Zaz’s Q2 Blues, A Fashion War, ’24 Game Theory

Happy Friday and welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon compilation of Puck’s best new reporting.

Today, we lead with Matt Belloni’s inside look at how today's surprise studio-writer summit came together. What lured the AMPTP to the table, and is there reason to feel cautiously optimistic about a labor breakthrough?

Plus, below the fold: Lauren Sherman digs into the market for Goop. Is Dave Portnoy’s Barstool the most illustrative comp? Tara Palmeri games out a Murphy’s Law-style ’24 hypothetical for Dems. On The Powers That Be, Julia Ioffe joins Peter Hamby to discuss Saudi prince Mohammed bin Salman’s recent spate of shallow diplomatic overtures, while Ben Landy and Lauren Sherman dissect the activist investor rattling Kering’s cage. And on The Town, Matt huddles up with analyst Rich Greenfield to break down Warner Bros. Discovery’s Q2 results.

MATTHEW BELLONI

Why the AMPTP finally agreed to sit down with the Writers Guild and how there’s reason to be cautiously optimistic for Hollywood’s labor breakthrough of the summer.

LAUREN SHERMAN

Paltrow has put all of her eggs in the Goop mogul basket, but what’s the endgame for a newsletter-turned-lifestyle brand that doesn’t turn a profit? Dave Portnoy’s Barstool may provide a comp…

TARA PALMERI

Yes, of course, Biden is running for re-election. But national politics is a viper’s nest that requires ambitious putative candidates to prepare for even unthinkable, Murphy’s Law-style outcomes. So, what happens if Biden unexpectedly decides to bow out? Exploring D.C.’s increasingly popular hypothetical question.

PETER HAMBY, JULIA IOFFE, LAUREN SHERMAN and BEN LANDY

Julia Ioffe joins Peter to discuss Saudi prince Mohammed bin Salman’s volunteer attempt to free a U.S. journalist detained in Putin’s Russia. And then Ben Landy and Lauren Sherman discuss an activist investor’s attempt the rattle Kering’s cage.